In the fall season, the Port Washington Vikings put out eleven different athletic teams. While two did not compete at all (the cheerleading team and the Portettes), all but one competing group made it to at least the second round of their playoffs. Certain teams over-performed, some underperformed, but overall, Athletic Director Ms. Stephanie Joannon was happy with the performance of all the squads.
“This fall was an outstanding season for fall varsity sports…congratulations to all the teams and coaches and all the families and friends who supported all of them,” wrote Ms. Joannon on the Schreiber Athletics page.
Football
The Vikings have returned from their winless season in Nassau Conference I to win the Conference V championship, only being defeated once. Their 6-1 conference record was topped off by winning a one game playoff against Jericho, 26-20. In the game, junior Matt Siegal caught two touchdowns from junior James Burns while the winning 14-yard touchdown was scored by junior running back Michael Gennusa who ran for 154 yards as well. Key performances throughout the season came from senior captains Aaron Underwood, Christian Castillo, Adam Gatehouse and Vincent Miscioscia.
“It was an honor to be captain of the football team this season. The guys really worked hard to change the culture of losing,” said Underwood. “Before this team was used to losing, now we’re used to winning.”
Boys Volleyball
This year’s boys volleyball team found their season cut short at the hands of Plainview JFK. They were eliminated in the county semi-finals by a score of 3-1. However, this is not the first in which this has happened; last year Plainview JFK was the team that ended the Vikings season, in the county semi-finals by the exact same score of 3-1. The Vikings played Plainview twice and only won the first time by a score of 3-2, and followed with a loss of 2-3. Also in a repetitive fashion, both years the Plainview JFK team proceeded to lose to Massapequa in the county finals. The Vikings sole captain Kwan Park, a junior, and fellow senior David Kim have both played major roles on the team, contributing performances with up to 11 or 12 kills in some games.
Field Hockey
The field hockey team, although finishing first in the regular season with a conference record of 11-2, came up just short in the postseason, failing to beat second seeded Massapequa for the second season in a row. Their loss to Massapequa was handed to them in the Nassau Conference II final at Adelphi University, by a score of 1-0. Despite the bitter ending to the season, their stunning conference play included players such as senior Kelly McDonough, the team’s goaltender and senior Lauren Desimone who ended the season with the fifth most points on Long Island.
“All the girls on the team were close. we had so much fun at practice and winning all those games together,” said Desimone.
Boys Soccer
On Nov. 10, the boys soccer team fell in the conference semi-finals to Syosset by a score of 4-3. The Vikings were up 3-1 at halftime and the winning goal was scored on a penalty kick with seven minutes left. A little less than a third of the roster is composed of freshman. This inexperienced crew seems to have fared unexpectedly well when they ended the season with a conference record of 6-4-1, tacking on two more playoff wins to the record. The future looks bright for the boys soccer team in the future.
“It was really cool to see the team gel together throughout the season. Last year, we graduated 17 seniors. Not many people thought we would do well, but we built chemistry,” said senior Cameron Boroumand. “It was a great season.”
Girls Soccer
The girls soccer team which had a conference record of 9-3-2, was upset in the first round by seventh seed MacArthur. Identical to the boys soccer team, the Vikings are located in the rather large Conference AA. Also identical to the boy’s soccer team, the Lady Vikings are freshmen heavy; the team’s leaders in both goals and assists are freshman.
Girls Tennis
Led by Head Coach Mr. Stan Makover, the girls tennis team found themselves in the Nassau County championships in mid-October. Port Washington lost to Long Island champion and undefeated Syosset. Throughout the season, seniors Holly Hubsher and Emma Brezel led the squad, with juniors Lauren Livingston and Liz Kallenberg playing key roles as singles players. By season’s end, Port Washington finished 12-4 overall, second in the conference.
“For an individual sport, we had great team spirit. I’m going to miss everyone on the team and playing for Port,” said Hubsher.
Boys Cross Country
The boys cross country team has been renowned for the past five years. This year was no different. This year’s runners won the Division IB title. Individual accomplishments were widespread as well. Seniors James Gallagher, Nicolas Sapountzis, and Sid Kakkar won All-County awards and finished in the Top 25 amongst Nassau County’s best. Senior Shoki Yamada, junior Leo Potters, and sophomore Keton Kakkar won All-Division awards.
“This year our team was better than last year. We had an overall more talented team. Our 2-3-4-5 guys were all of equal talent, and were able to compete at such a high level because of the core five,” said senior Gallagher. “Chances looked pretty good to make it to the State meet. It was a shame Hurricane Sandy hit and cancelled counties.”
Girls Cross Country
The girls cross country team finished second in the conference. Key performances this season were presented by senior Bianca Luparello, junior Jordan Abrams, junior Joelle Feinberg, senior Gisella Snailer, and senior Ashley Pollack who all finished in the Top 25 in the Conference I race at season’s end.
Girls Swimming
The girls swimming team completed the season as Conference Champions. Home games were played at the Port Washington Yacht Club and practices were held early in the morning. The squad won every meet except the one they tied.
“I was really proud to have such a motivated, spirited team and to be able to end my six years by defending our conference championship,” said senior Ellie Zolotarev.
Nine sports: two conference championships, two conference second place finishes, and many awards and accomplishments achieved. The Port Washington Vikings fall season is complete, but not without the legacy they left.